


Toxic Trick

by Samsonet



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: F/M, meet cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-21
Updated: 2020-06-21
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:54:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24844132
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Samsonet/pseuds/Samsonet
Summary: Being an idol means putting on a smile when you don’t feel like it. It means playing nice with the new kid, who seems to like you even after you’ve threatened to poison her soup. It means helping out the guy who took what should have beenyourplace in the major leagues.Klara’s not bitter. Not at all.
Relationships: Kurara | Klara/Nezu | Piers
Comments: 3
Kudos: 39





	Toxic Trick

Klara meets Piers out of the blue. By a lucky chance. Pure coincidence. She’s on a stroll during one of the dojo’s free time hours, and she just happens to run into him near the beach.

(He doesn’t need to know that she saw that Obstagoon hairstyle and took a sharp turn to walk by him.)

“Oh~ my~ gosh~!” she says, putting her hands on her cheeks in a show of surprise. “It can’t be! _The_ Piers, here? Sooo cool! Are you training?”

Piers grimaces. He looks like he’d like nothing more than to walk away, but the Toxtricity standing beside him doesn’t seem very well at the moment. And Klara… well, she’s selfish and catty, she knows that, but poison-types are her specialty. She isn’t about to let a cutie like that suffer if she can help it.

She asks, “Is your Pokemon alright?”

“No,” Piers says, just as blunt as the interviews make him seem. “‘e was fine earlier, but ‘e’s sick now. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

Klara hums thoughtfully. “Have you had him long?”

“Only caught ‘im recently.”

“I see.”

It’s not an ideal situation, having a teammate you just started training get sick. The isle doesn’t have its own Pokemon Center; the nearest Pokemon hospital is three hours away. If a trainer doesn’t know the kind of illnesses their Pokémon is likely to get, they may be out of luck.

Klara says, “Luckily for you, you’ve got a poison specialist right here! I trained a Toxtricity—” Actually she babysitted a Toxel once, but close enough, right? “—so I’m pretty sure I can figure out what the problem is!”

Piers seems skeptical (typical stuck-up dark specialist), but steps back with a gesture of “be my guest.”

She steps up to the Pokemon, cooing at it. “Aw, poor baby… Where does it hurt?”

Toxtricity leans forward, showing off two hard bumps on his cheeks. Klara recognizes this. It’s the same problem the Toxel’s trainer had to go get Opal’s help for, because —

“His poison sacs are congested,” Klara says. “That’s normal, ‘specially in this weather! But I know exactly what will fix it.”

She calls out her Weezing.

“What are ya thinking out?” Piers asks, sounding more than a little alarmed.

“Just trust me~!”

There’s a stereotype about poison specialists: they’re obsessed with chemicals and potions, always trying to find new ways to use their Pokemon’s abilities for anti-aging makeup or untraceable murder methods.

Klara fits it, too, in a way. She _is_ creative with her team’s talents. But this move isn’t an experiment. It’s something she’s seen work before.

“Buddy, our friend here isn’t feeling too good! Give him some of your Strange Steam, will you? But not too hot!”

Weezing dutifully obeys, sending some steam toward Toxtricity. The Pokemon seems a bit confused at first, unsure if this is supposed to be a battle or not. After taking a moment and a deep breath, though, he relaxes. Klara reaches out, gently massaging his cheeks.

“There’s a good baby. Feeling better, right?”

Toxtricity makes a happy sound, and even Piers looks pleasantly surprised. Klara gives herself a mental pat on the back. She’s already planning how to use this to her advantage. Maybe get him to introduce her to a producer he knows, or ask to come along the next time Piers is invited somewhere. Even ex-gym leaders can bring plus-ones, right?

Piers rubs the back of his neck. “It looks like you got it under control.”

“I did~! Good as new!”

“Well…” Being in someone’s debt has to be awkward for him, but that just makes it that much sweeter. “Thank you. Tox and I appreciate it.”

“Anytime~! And if you need me help again, here’s my number!” She pulls out her notebook and writes her number on a pink-lined page, ripping it out and handing it to him. Then she waves goodbye and scampers off, not intending to give him a chance to give the paper back.

When she gets back to the dojo, Klara lets her smile drop. She’d just done the most _stereotypical_ fannish thing to do, handing over a number without trying to ingratiate herself with him more. Of _course_ Piers isn’t going to call. He probably gets twelve fan numbers a day. To Klara, Piers is the music star that she wanted to be; to Piers, Klara is probably just the latest in a long line of annoying fans. She’d had one shot, and she blew it.

She wonders if she’ll run into him again. Next time, she’ll be sure to bring up Marnie somehow. That’s his weak point, isn’t it?

*

It turns out, she doesn't have to wait.

Piers calls her that night.


End file.
